Your wish is my command! (I'm sorry about the birdsong. I know you didn't request it, so I hope it doesn't detract from the sounds of the waves lapping gently at the shore.)
7:37 am, Overstrand beach. Yes, that's Bitey having a paddle.
Around midday on Saturday, I was happily perched in a paysho chair surveying the garden when movement from the lawn got my undivided attention. It was Bitey, obviously. But rather than digging a hole, or having a mad turn, he was industrially twatting something in the grass. I leapt up and rushed over.
A bee! Bitey was twatting a bumblebee! I scooped it up and returned to my chair. Fortunately, it didn't seem injured although one of it's wings was sticking out a little. Still, it crawled around and buzzed a few times, so I got up and encouraged it to disembark my thumb onto one of the Echiums where it guzzled down nectar like nobody's business!
Up at Allotment Device the bees are loving the comfrey. [click to embiggen]
In the extensive gardens here at Hexenhäusli Device, the lawn has been mowed, a multitude of potting on and repotting has been done (although there is still more to do), I've picked yet more duckweed out of the pond lake, and the echiums, clematis, geums, marigolds, and azaleas are in bloom. I've even managed to have a sit down in The Gardener's Retreat wth a G&T!
To add to the uplifting mood, I'm counting down to the end of a particularly gruelling blogging week - and tomorrow Jon (& Madam A) should be back from his much-needed holiday leaving my work as his ill thought through, last minute stand-in, done!
Let's have something suitably gin-addled and sparkly to get the celebrations going, shall we - and who could be more appropriate than Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore of Empire of the Sun?!
After some very light haranguing, may we present The Grand Map & Plan of Allotment Device!
Above, at last, is the layout of Allotment Device. It is too long to fit on one page...
I spent a good half an hour yesterday striding up and down, back and forth measuring my allotment in steps (because it was easier than fannying around with a tape measure), sketching and jotting as I went. Which is why it is rather rough (instead of grand) and somewhat illegible (I added the black biro labelling today - I hope you can read it).
Anyway, one enters the allotment from the south (lower left corner)...
... and is accosted by the staging area/dumping ground and Leaning Shed.
(It's easy to miss the three thornless blackberries and the greengage tree in the far right corner.)
In the absence of anything with any substance - an impromptu adventure over the Cusp, for example - may I present another excerpt from 2017's Ms Scarlet in the Pantry with the Can-Opener, the unofficial and unauthorised biography of our very own Ms Scarlet!
Today we'll be looking at chapter 4, "A Day Without Rain":
Drat it! Who stood on that twig and startled my woodsman? Now I'll have to leave him be for a while before I can sneak up again and snatch that horrid flannel shirt away. Bah!
Well, seeing as you're all here, we might as well get on with the closing ceremony.
Thank you to everyone who took part in this year's Event. Whether you shared your garden photos, visited and left comments, or just wandered around gazing at the various botanical specimens on show (and avoiding the triffids - unless you didn't, in which case, thanks for acting as fertiliser!).
The gardens and greenery were full of gorgeousness once again and, as always, served as inspiration for next year.
Here's what we got up to:
Programme of Events
TheI N F O M A N I A CGARDEN PHOTOS EVENT 2O25
began on Hallowe'en with the now traditional TERRIFYING TRIFFIDERY!
[This is not Ms Scarlet. This is Barney her canine companion]
M s S C A R L E T
My garden saw some new additions in 2025, namely a higher fence, and a larger dog. There were also some plant purchases, which included an apple tree in early Spring, and some Asters, which gave some much needed colour in early autumn. There was also something that had orange flowers - dead common, grows in hedgerows, and just about everywhere else, but I can't remember what it's called. We bought it in the hope that it would see off the ground elder.
The big pink bush did its thing in late spring - not as vibrant as last year, but still in the pink. 2025 was a good year for the Hawthorn tree, but not as good as 2023.
Welcome to the 15th annual I N F O M A N I A CGARDEN PHOTOS EVENT, and the 6th to be hosted here at Inexplicable Device!
Thank you to everyone who sent in photos - and to those of you who haven't yet got around to it but will do soon. And certainly by Tuesday the 4th! Without you - even the slackers and lallygaggers (whom do not include Savvy this year as she got her photos in BEFORE the original deadline!!) - there would be no Garden Photos Event.
As of this writing, there are 11 sets of your garden and/or pot plant photographs waiting in the wings to be published throughout November.
And also, in the continued absence of the Infomaniac Duck (and last year's stand ins, the Hexenhäusli Device Dove & Jackdaw), may I present our special guests, the Canberran Cockatoo & Magpie:
Some of you may recognise the above pair from another blog, Elephant's Child, run by Dinahmow's friend Sue. Sadly, Sue lost her battle with cancer at the end of September, so Dinah asked if we could feature her garden as she left it - bright, colourful, and full of the joys of spring. Of course I agreed, so you'll be able to see Sue's spring bulbs and other blooms about midway through the Event (garden #5).
Ah, here you all are - Welcome to the 6th annual Terrifying Triffidery extravaganza!
Gathered here for your bewilderment and horror are some of the finest specimens of triffidery from across the globe. And possibly from other globes, too.
As always, the Bloggerati who supplied them did not see fit to provide any labels so it is up to you to identify these menacing monstrosities and from whom they originated. The originators are listed on the poster above and, to make things a little more complicated, some of them supplied more than one triffid. Good luck!
A word of warning: Some of the specimens are mobile or have prehensile tendrils, so do keep your distance from the enclosures as you go by, and be sure to strap yourselves in.
The Hexenhäusli Device woodsman is on hand to ensure your safety and provide a demonstration of how to secure your extremities should you need it.
(I have personally gone through this with him several times - for certification purposes, of course - and still find myself somewhat breathless such was his enthusiasm and vigour!)
Oh, and please note: The Management cannot be held responsible for loss of limbs/head/life, and We hope you all manage to get through the tour relatively unscathed. Or at least manage to Stay Alive...
Yes, we watched Romy and Michele's High School Reunion the other day. I love their dance routine to N-Trance's version of "Stayin' Alive" which is why I've featured it here!
In fact, I've picked another Hallowe'en-adjacent song from Romy and Michele for later in this post.
Here's the full track for those who are interested:
Although, not very early. It was about ten past six.
That's still quite early. Maybe not as early as Ms Scarlet, but much earlier than Jon, I suspect. Anyway, I was up early and the sky was relatively clear-
Unlike now - overcast and dull.
Anyway... I decided to pop down to the seafront to get some photos of the sunrise without Witchface or Bitey (who wished to remain in bed).
And, aside from the one on the right, here they are almost in order of appearance:
This year I actually made something out of the sour, pointless red currants from the allotment: fruit leather.
It's horrible. It gets stuck to ones teeth and no one likes it. I only made it because Vom Smallhausen and Count Podgkinson foolishly picked some currants after I'd taken them up the allotment (fruit leather was the least complicated recipe I could find that used the most red currants). The red currant bush is getting dug up this winter!
View up Northrepps Road
Parasol mushroom
Escaping the heat - and Bitey - was this toad.
P. S. Apologies for my absence, I have been busy with summer and taking photos for the Grand Gardening Competition in October, or sooner??
While I have been busy with summer and taking photos for the Grand Gardening Competi- I mean, Garden Photos Event, I have also been sorting out the garden & allotment, engaged in a few social activities (pah!), exhausted myselves trying to eke out some sort of service from a couple of companies so-called "customer service" departments/teams, and have been lumbered with nieces and nephew far more often that I would have liked!
(Except for the toad, these photos are from 2nd August and I started this post on the 8th!)
Also, Ms Scarlet had locked me in her attic without food nor a bath mat - but that's a story for another time...
"Four Photos" is an idea I've just had to help me get back to our little corner of the BlogWorld.
Rather than spend hours trying to work out what to say (if I don't have anything to say), or how to say it (if I do), I just need to select four photos that I've taken and slap them up here on my blog with as little or as much accompanying text as I feel is necessary or can be bothered with.
There doesn't need to be a theme, or anything that links the chosen photos, and they don't even have to be recent ones, but they do have to be photos I've taken. (I'm considering family photos as well - just in case I happen to look at old photo albums and see something of interest.)
This first set, you will see, does have a theme. Well, the first three do, anyway. Bees!
Just over three weeks ago I was up at the allotment and noticed a rather loud buzzing. Once I'd worked out where the noise was coming from, I saw the air over number 37 (next door but two to mine) was rather hazy. Putting down my tools, I wandered over to investigate.
It's not readily noticeable in this photo, but the air was thick with honeybees - I didn't get any closer.
I don't know if they were coming or going.
You can't really make out the bees in front of the blackthorn blossom, but look at the sky between the branches and twigs.
: : :
Oblivious to the danger lurking under the swing, Bitey rolls around on the lawn.
(From 20th April)
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Should anyone else who is suffering from the 'blog uselessness' bug think that this 'Four Photos' treatment may help them, please feel free to use it.
I'm sure it won't come as any surprise when I tell you that I've been somewhat slack with regards to blogging this year - both posting here, and reading all of yours. And the Host hasn't been much better, either.
Hey!
Well, isn't it true?
Yes. I suppose so. Except for June and November.
Anyway, June and November aside, we've pretty much given up on our annual "Year of..." extravaganza, and instead focused on one very important award that always features towards the end of said extravaganza. And that award is, the Most Inconvenient Birthday Award.
Only this year, it's the Most Convenient as it's saved us from exploding with frustration and exhaustion in an attempt to pack two or three days worth of work into just a couple of hours!
And so, we'd like to present this golden, hazelnutty, chocolatey award to, none other than Savvy!
Well, what a gardening year we've had! Very many thanks to all you lovely green-fingered Bloggerati who took part and sent in your garden and garden-related photos. We've been up close and personal to all manner of intimate specimens from across the globe: from Savvy's chocolate-frosted Monty Don to Ms Scarlet's Big Pink Bush™, there are no secrets here anymore - everything was on show! And what a show it has been:
I don't have much to offer up this year - this year being one of the most miserable ever, BUT, my big pink bush was glorious and I don't want to miss anyopportunity to show it off.
[Ms Scarlet's infamous Big Pink Bush™ in situ - IDV]
It's taken me a week to get over the Ten Day Blogging Challenge thingy but before I move on to business as usual, I have a couple of things to say and a couple of loose ends to tie up.
Firstly, the 10DBC has given me new found respect for the likes of Jon (who was the unwitting inspiration behind the challenge), Mistress Maddie, and Mr Tonking who can often be found teetering at the top of my Sideboard thanks to their daily blog posts. Their commitment to blogging and, therefore, entertaining us each day, cannot be underestimated - they are an inspiration!
1. I do NOT work in Warhammer. Although, I think The Very Mistress might have posed for one or two of these little sculptures unless I'm very much mistaken?
Apologies for the poor image clarity. I couldn't get any photos without loads of reflections and this is the clearest I could make them after messing around with the contrast and shadows etc.
I took Bitey up to the allotment earlier for some exercise and so I could see if the seemingly neverending rain had turned the ripening soft fruit to mush. It hadn't, surprisingly - as can be seen in these photographs.
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